Chencha (woreda)

Chencha is one of the woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Gamo Gofa Zone, Chencha is bordered on the south by Arba Minch Zuria, on the west by Dita, on the north by Kucha and Boreda, and on the east by Mirab Abaya. Towns in Chencha include Chencha, Dorze, Dokko and Ezo.

According to a 2004 report, Chencha had 36 kilometers of all-weather roads and 1 kilometer of dry-weather roads, for an average road density of 101 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers.^[1]

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this woreda has a total population of 111,686, of whom 51,310 are men and 60,376 women; 13,304 or 11.91% of its population are urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 62.19% of the population reporting that belief, and 36.82% were Protestants. ^[2]

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 88,040 of whom 38,750 were men and 49,290 were women; 7,851 or 8.92% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Chencha was the Gamo people (98.7%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.3% of the population. Gamo was spoken as a first language by 95.89%, 1.88% Amharic, and 1.85% spoke Dorze; the remaining 1.4% spoke all other primary languages reported.^[3] While performing fieldwork in 1991, Alemayehu Abebe reports that he found 14 kebeles in Chencha inhabited by the Dorze people.^[4]

Notes

1. "Detailed statistics on roads" Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine., SNNPR Bureau of Finance and Economic Development website (accessed 15 September 2009)
2. Census 2007 Tables: Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region Archived November 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine., Tables 2.1, and 3.4.
3. 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, Vol. 1, part 1 Archived November 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine., Tables 2.1, 2.12, 2.15 (accessed 30 December 2008)
4. Alemayehu Abebe, "Ometo Dialect Pilot Survey Report" SIL Electronic Survey Reports SILESR 2002-068

Coordinates: 6°15′N 37°40′E / 6.250°N 37.667°E